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A Kinmel Bay woman diagnosed with a rare blood disease which leaves her in debilitating pain has started selling her possessions after being told she’s fit to work.

Wendy Smith, 62, has been battling the effects of Henoch Schonlein purpura (HSP) for the last 40 years.

The condition narrows the smaller blood vessels in Wendy’s the body and attacks her kidneys as if they were foreign bodies.

Other symptoms include skin problems, decreased bone density and bouts of chronic pain.

But the former chef and hotelier has had her disability benefits taken away after a UK Government assessor told her she was fit to work.

Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work Penny Mordaunt's reply about Ms Smith's case

She has been fighting the decision for the past 18 months but has been forced to admit defeat after having her appeal rejected by the Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work Penny Mordaunt.

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Ms Smith says she has spent years working in the hospitality trade but had to give up work when the pain from her illness - which has been linked to her degenerative kidney condition, arthritis and bone density problems - became too much for her.

Wendy at home in Kinmel Bay

“Their argument is I have had the blood disease for all this time and I worked before, but the effects are degenerative,” she added.

She received a letter from Department for Work and Pensions minister Penny Mordaunt MP in July via her MP David Jones.

The letter Wendy received from the minister outlines how health assessors need not be “experts” in a particular field although they were expected to “have a broad training in disability analysis”.